NewbOldster
Well-Known Member
He would have been 91 today. Born smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression, his own father left when dad was just nine years old, never to be heard from again. He grew up extremely hard, and he raised his kids the same way. Dad had his demons, and he had a temper when he was younger. We never went hungry though, I can tell ya' that. Dad knew what hunger was.
But he was a good, fair man...albeit hard as nails. Worked full, thick callouses into my hands by the time I was 15, and he could still outwork me then. Dad made sure I was working from the time I could catch a ride - I cut and laid sod, picked gladiolas and oranges, picked and then sold watermelons ($.25 each, or 5/$1.00) off the back of a tractor trailer, trimmed palm trees and scraped barnacles off the bottoms of boats, among other labor-intensive jobs - all before age 13.
He was a carpenter, and I was free labor for him, long before home builders were all subbed out. He made me do it all, except plumbing and electrical. I carried sheets of plywood, rolls of tarpaper and bundles of shingles up an extension ladder to the roofs of many houses. There were no conveyors, or air nailers. It was all done by hand. One nail at a time.
At age 15 I had to get a work permit and a 'real' job - with a real paycheck - bussing tables or washing dishes, stocking grocery store shelves, then eventually finding more permanent work at a tire store, where I was still working when I enlisted in the Air Force.
Dad, you fvckin' hard-ass! I love ya' man, and I wish you were still here. We still have so much we never talked about.
Happy Birthday, Old Man! I miss the hell outta ya'.
But he was a good, fair man...albeit hard as nails. Worked full, thick callouses into my hands by the time I was 15, and he could still outwork me then. Dad made sure I was working from the time I could catch a ride - I cut and laid sod, picked gladiolas and oranges, picked and then sold watermelons ($.25 each, or 5/$1.00) off the back of a tractor trailer, trimmed palm trees and scraped barnacles off the bottoms of boats, among other labor-intensive jobs - all before age 13.
He was a carpenter, and I was free labor for him, long before home builders were all subbed out. He made me do it all, except plumbing and electrical. I carried sheets of plywood, rolls of tarpaper and bundles of shingles up an extension ladder to the roofs of many houses. There were no conveyors, or air nailers. It was all done by hand. One nail at a time.
At age 15 I had to get a work permit and a 'real' job - with a real paycheck - bussing tables or washing dishes, stocking grocery store shelves, then eventually finding more permanent work at a tire store, where I was still working when I enlisted in the Air Force.
Dad, you fvckin' hard-ass! I love ya' man, and I wish you were still here. We still have so much we never talked about.
Happy Birthday, Old Man! I miss the hell outta ya'.
